Boulder's oldest and largest community choral organization just celebrated half a century of song, and as the Boulder Chorale embarks on its 51st season, the upcoming collaboration with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in May looms large.

In her second season with the Chorale, artistic director Vicki Burrichter has also broadened the scope of her Boulder activities, taking over as director of the fledgling Colorado Masterworks Chorus, which will sing Haydn's "Creation" with Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra later this month.

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Besides these large projects, Burrichter and the Chorale are also planning three standalone concerts for 2016-17, all of which will be presented twice.

'Women's Work'

The season begins with "Women's Work," a full program of music by women and about women. It will be heard on Sat., Oct. 22, and Sunday, Oct. 23, at Boulder's Seventh-Day Adventist Church, a venue that is becoming increasingly popular for area classical organizations. The other two concerts, including the ever-popular holiday program, will be at the Chorale's usual performance venue, First United Methodist Church.

Burrichter said that the "Women's Work" concert started to center on mysticism and the idea of the mystic feminine. The first piece on the program is by the great 12th century abbess Hildegard von Bingen, whom Burrichter described as "one of the great geniuses of Western culture." The choir will perform her chant "O splendidissima gemma" in a motet arrangement by Frank Ferko.

Other versions of the mystic feminine will follow, including two pieces by male composers: Anton Bruckner's "Ave Maria" and "Mother of God, Here I Stand" by contemporary Eastern Orthodox composer John Tavener (who died in 2013). The smaller Chamber Chorale sings an experimental piece by Meredith Monk that has mystical qualities, Burrichter said. The concert will close with an arrangement of folk/pop singer Carly Simon's "Let the River Run."

Special guest on the program is African-American poet/singer Dominique Christina, winner of five national poetry slam titles. Her work is greatly influenced by her family's history in the civil rights movement. Burrichter said that her highly improvisatory poetry and song would mirror and frame the chorale's performances.

Holiday program

This year's holiday concert is planned for Friday, Dec. 9, and Sunday, Dec. 11. It is titled "A Thousand Beautiful Things" and, as usual, will be performed jointly with the ensembles of the Boulder Children's Chorale, an arm of the Boulder Chorale organization.

The concert title comes from an Annie Lennox song that will be presented by the Chamber Chorale. Traditional songs from the Jewish and Christian traditions will be included as usual. A piece, "Puer nobis nascitur," by local composer Andrea Ramsey will be sung by the women of the chorus and a children's ensemble.

Other pieces include John Rutter's "Look at the World" and a piece by Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds called "Stars" that includes pitched musical glasses. University of Colorado composer Jeffrey Nytch contributes "Go Tell It," based on the popular spiritual carol. The major piece sung by the full choir is Dominick Argento's "Gloria," which the Chorale has never performed.

Burrichter is keen on integrating the Children's Chorale more directly with the adult singers in this concert, praising the work of Childrern's Chorale directors Kate Klotz and Megan Lawless.

Bluegrass mass

In a collaborative coup, Colorado's Rapidgrass Quintet, a "shooting star" in the world of bluegrass, according to Burrichter, will join the Chorale on March 18 and 19, 2017. This creates the opportunity to perform "The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass" by Minnesota composer Carol Barnett.

"To do that piece, you need instrumentalists who can read the score and play in that style," Burrichter explained. "We were excited that they agreed to do it."

The first half of the program will include Southern gospel songs like "Wayfarin' Stranger" and "I'll Fly Away." Rapidgrass will also likely play some of their own pieces.

Chamber Chorale at the library

In one additional event, the Chamber Chorale will sing a free concert on Feb. 12 on the Boulder Public Library concert series. Burrichter said that the event would include a variety of things the singers have learned over the past year and a half, including from the first two concerts of this season.

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